Carly Patterson finished her floor routine and went to celebrate with her coaches and teammates. All that was left to do was wait. When the judges revealed her event-high 9.712, excitement filled the ...

ANAHEIM, Calif., Aug. 22 -- American Carly Patterson had a chance to win the gold medal. She also had a big problem: The queen, Svetlana Khorkina, was one good floor routine from tumbling her way into ...

ATHENS, Greece - Carly Patterson wanted to be an Olympic champion for as long as she can remember, hoping she'd be "the next Mary Lou" someday. Now, little girls all over America want to be "the next ...

ATHENS, Greece — The 20-year wait is over. America has its new Mary Lou, and her name is Carly Patterson. The 16-year-old dynamo beat Russian superstar Svetlana Khorkina to give the United States ...

Carly Patterson of the United States competes in the floor exercise during the women’s gymnastics individual all-around final at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

In the end, guts beat grace. Thursday night at Athens’ Olympic Indoor Hall, Carly Patterson bounced back from a klutzy performance in the team event and pranced, pirouetted and double-piked her way to ...